Religion News: Pope canonizes youngest saints

Thursday

May 18, 2017 at 2:01 AM

WEEK IN RELIGIONPope Francis canonized two of the Roman Catholic church’s youngest saints in front of hundreds of thousands of people on May 13. Portuguese shepherd siblings Francisco and Jacinta Marto were believed to have seen Mary the Mother of Jesus 100 years ago in Fatima. The sisters died at the ages of 10 and 9 years old, but the site has been a major pilgrimage site for Catholics around the world since they saw the apparitions. The Catholic church believes Mary gave three children (Francisco, Jacinta and their older cousin Lucia Dos Santos) three messages, which became known as the “Secrets of Fatima.” During the outdoor mass, Pope Francis asked for prayers that Mary would protect the most vulnerable members of society, “especially the sick and the disabled, prisoners and the unemployed, the poor and the abandoned.”— More Content Now

SURVEY SAYSEvangelical millennials more liberal than older generationsEvangelical millennials are more accepting of gay marriage and gay rights than their parents, according to new research by the Pew Forum. “Evangelical Protestants who are Millennials (those born from 1981-1996) are considerably more likely than older evangelical Protestants to support same-sex marriage and to say homosexuality should be accepted by society,” the Pew Forum said. — More Content Now

GOOD BOOK?“Play the Man: Becoming the Man God Created You to Be” by Mark BattersonSomewhere along the way, our culture lost its definition of manhood, leaving generations of men and men-to-be confused about their roles, responsibilities, relationships, and the reason God made them men. It’s into this “no man’s land” that New York Times bestselling author Mark Batterson declares his mantra for manhood: Play the man. In this inspiring call to something greater, he helps men understand what it means to be a man of God by unveiling seven virtues of manhood. Mark shares inspiring stories of manhood, including the true story of the hero and martyr Polycarp, who first heard the voice from heaven say, “Play the man.” Mark couples those stories with practical ideas about how to disciple the next generation of men.— Baker Books

THE WORDwood: Pronounced “woo-DOO.” A ritual in Islam in which the hands, face, mouth and feet are cleaned with water, symbolic of spiritual cleansing.— ReligionStylebook.com